A Williamson County teacher has been reinstated following a suspension as a result of a social media post deemed insensitive in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
A Williamson County Schools teacher who was suspended over a private social media post in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination has been reinstated to her job, though a federal lawsuit over the district’s actions is still ongoing.
The reinstatement was revealed in a federal court filing after Emily Orbison, a Franklin High School teacher, sued the Tennessee school district last month over her suspension and a subsequent “no contact” ban from district schools property that blocked her from accessing her own daughter’s school and teacher.
Veteran board member backs Parish for District 9 seat
A longtime Williamson County School Board member is backing a political newcomer in the race for the vacant District 9 school board seat.
Rick Wimberley is endorsing Shandus Parish for the job, praising Parish’s commitment to open communication and willingness to work with all parties to advance excellence.
“Shandus has a good grasp of the challenges of school board work and an understanding of what the real role is and what it’s not,” Wimberly said. “She’s prepared. She’ll be open to input from the public, her colleagues, and WCS staff, and will put aside politics and partisanship when making tough decisions. I think Shandus will make an excellent Williamson County School Board member.”
In a social media post, local education advocacy group Williamson Strong raised concerns that the County Commission may be attempting to influence the outcome of the upcoming election and implored the Commission to not appoint anyone currently running for the vacant seat.
Local Democrats echoed that sentiment.
The agenda does not list any current nominees for the position.
In any case, the person selected to fill the vacancy will only hold it until September. That’s when the candidate who wins the August election for the seat will take over.
Is something strange happening? Or is the County Commission just fulfilling its required duty?
A committed community volunteer and parent of two children in Williamson County Schools is running for School Board from District 9.
Shandus Parish announced her candidacy for a seat on the education policy-making body this week.
As for why she’s running, Parish says, “Growing up, public school was my sanctuary—a refuge of safety and enrichment where I could thrive away from my challenging home life. For me, school was more than just a place to learn. It was a place where I had agency, where my income, background, and zip code didn’t matter. Now, as a parent, I want to ensure that every child in Williamson County has access to the same opportunities that shaped my life.”
Elmer Mobley has officially announced his candidacy for Williamson County School Board District 1, representing the Fairview area.
Mobley is a longtime community activist and advocate for public education.
In his announcement, he explains the simple reason he’s running:
“My vision for our schools is simple,” Mobley explained. “Every child, regardless of background or zip code, deserves access to an equitable education that fosters excellence, engagement, and a sense of belonging.”
5th district school board member to run for a second term
A current member of the Williamson County School Board has announced she’ll be seeking re-election in 2024.
Jennifer Aprea, who represents the 5th District (Nolensville area) filed her petition to run as an Independent in the upcoming election.
“As a current WCS parent, volunteer, and engaged Board member, I feel strongly that our rapidly growing area deserves continuity in their representation which is why I’m choosing to run for another 4-year term serving their needs,” says Aprea.
An Independent (nonpartisan) candidate has filed to run for Williamson County School Board from District 11 (Franklin, Thompson’s Station).
Tony Caudill announced this week that he will run in the election to be held on August 1, 2024.
“Williamson County Schools are among the best public schools in the nation and have played a significant role in attracting families and businesses to our area. I believe the Board should work on opportunities for continuous improvement and focus on the very real issues that accompany rapid population growth, such as staffing, transportation, student safety, and adequate funding, which impact our students and staff members on a daily basis,” says Caudill. “My commitment will always be to strive to do what is best for all of our students, their teachers, and their collective success.”
Tennessee Lookout has a story out about the first partisan school board races in the state. The piece examines the issue through the lens of races in Williamson County.
The responses in the District 10 race are pretty interesting. That race features incumbent Eric Welch and challengers Doc Holladay and Jennifer Haile.
In summarizing the race, Welch offers this comparison between his candidacy and that of Holladay:
I’m focused on students, and what needs to be done to provide them a world-class education that they can build a successful future on. Holladay is focused on social media hot-button issues that really aren’t applicable to Williamson County Schools.
Here’s how Holladay sums things up:
The polarization of political views has especially created a divide in how we want to educate and raise our children. The left has held the steering wheel of public education for decades now, and look at what that has produced in our schools: Marxism, socialism, grooming our kids in gender ideology, pornographic material in our libraries, divisive & racist curriculums like (Critical Race Theory), “white privilege,” “guilt training,” vilifying our founding fathers and our country, untold psychological and developmental damage from useless masking, a massive push to jab them with potentially harmful experimental gene therapy drugs and an effort to divide them ideologically from their parents.
And Haile has this to say:
Race, gender and inequality, “CRT” as I understand it, simply does not exist in the K-12 curriculum. What we are talking about is the discussion of the human experience. I think if we approach discussions of race, gender and equality as an issue involving fairness, kindness and understanding, we remove political agendas. Of course, any curriculum must be age-appropriate and reviewed by parties who are knowledgeable about the subject; but the answer is not to pretend it does not exist and/or fail to adequately prepare our students for a diverse world.
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A Williamson County advocacy group is accusing an incumbent school board member seeking re-election of bullying and sowing seeds of division and exclusion.
Here’s more from a story originally published on NewsBreak:
The Williamson Social Justice Alliance (WSJA) is speaking out on comments made by Williamson County School Board member Jay Galbreath relative to LGBTQ students and broader diversity issues.
Specifically, the group is condemning remarks Galbreath made in a Facebook comment on his candidate page.
In a statement, WSJA noted:
“Galbreath’s comments on his public Facebook page stated that the progressive agenda looks to ‘inject and normalize things like gender identity, the black lives matter movement, and LGBTQ by weaving it into the curriculum.’ Words like these from an elected official marginalize all of the queer students in our community, as well as students with queer parents, by shaming them and stating other children must be shielded from the knowledge of their existence. Such disregard from an adult, especially one who serves as an elected official responsible for representing a diverse array of constituents in a large community like Williamson County, leads to further division and exclusion in our schools and society as a whole.”
The group specifically highlighted the negative impact comments such as Galbreath’s can have on students and referred to his remarks as “bullying.”
“All children deserve protection from bullying, particularly when it’s coming from adults. Bullying from an adult in a position of power and influence in their community is unacceptable.”
In describing their mission, WSJA says:
“WSJA stands for the equality and liberty of students in our schools and community, inclusive of every skin color, sex, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, or gender identity, and believe that everyone, no matter their personal values, wishes equal treatment and opportunity for each student in Williamson County.”
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